Leg for wardrobe-beds



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1. r

' W. A. MORRISON & G. L. AMES.

LEG FOR WARDROBE BEDS. No. 505,411.

Patented Sept. 19, 1893.

l i x 7/ (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet :3.

W. A. MORRISON &- 0. L. AMES. LEG BOB. WARDROBE BEDS.

No. 505,411. Patented Sept. 19, 1893.

M (D ym 4m (No Model.) v 4 Sheets-Sheet 4. W. A. MORRISON & G. L. AMES.

LEG FOR WARDROBE BEDS.

w A m 16 H mm My UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLARD A. MORRISON AND CHARLES L. AMES, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORSTO THE AMES & FROST COMPANY, OF ILLINOIS.

LEG FOR WARDROBE-BEDS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 505,411, datedSeptember 19, 1893.

Application filed July 3,1890. Serial No. 357,624. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that we, WILLARD A. MORRL SON and CHARLES L. AMES, citizensof the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook andState of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements inFurniture-Legs; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, and to letters ofreference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The improvement relates particularly to a furniture leg which is to beapplied to a folding section of furniture and arranged to-lie in a wayin said section when folded into the vertical position and to fall bygravity from said way when said section is opened into the horizontalposition for use.

The improvement involves the application of means for automaticallylocking the leg when the latter is extended from the said section and"automatically unlocking said leg when said section is folded. For thispurpose, a gravity key, controlled by an inclined way, is used ashereinafter set forth.

The details of the application of this gravity key may be considerablyvaried. We deem it sufficient to show four modifications of suchapplication. It is thought that after showing these, persons familiarwith this art will fully understand the application of our improvementin all cases.

In the accompanying drawings-Figure 1 is a sectional View of the freeend of the movable section of a wardrobe bed in the hori zontalposition. Fig. 2 is a view of the same in the vertical position, withthe leg folded. Fig. 3 is a section in line a-b of Fig. 2 looking to thebottom of the bed. Fig. 4 is a section of the upper end of the leg shownin Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 5 is asectionalview of the free end of themovable section of a wardrobe bed in the horizontal position, having ourimprovement applied in another form. Fig. 6 is a view of the same in thevertical position, with the leg folded. Fig. 7 is a detail section ofthe form shown in Figs. 5 and 6. Figs. 8, 9, and 10 are similar views toFigs. 5, 6, and 7, respectively, of another form of our improvement.Figs 11, 12, and 13 are similar views to Figs. 5, 6, and 7,respectively, of still another form of our improvement.

Referring first to Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4., A is the leg, B is the gravitykey, and C is a portion of the movable section of a wardrobe bed hingedat one end in a. horizontal line, as is usual. The legA extends looselythrough a way C in the floor C of the bed C perpendicularly to suchfloor. D is a hollow block, preferably of cast-iron, surrounding the legA and secured to the bed 0. The upper end of the legA is provided with ahead A and at its lower end is provided with a foot A The foot preventsthe leg from extending too far into the bed and the head prevents itfrom falling out of the floor of the bed. The opening D in the upperwall of the block D is a little larger than the head A in order that thelattermay pass downward into said block. The opening D in the lower wallof said block is smaller than said head in order that the latter may notpass downward through said opening. The way C and the openings D and Dconstitute the complete way in which i the leg A loosely rests, socontrolled as to be allowed to be shifted only in a directionperpendicular to the floor C of the bed. D is an inclined way or passagewithin the block D extending from the side of the leg A which is towardthe head of the bed into the path of said leg. The end of said inclinedway toward the hinge of the bed is called the forward end and theopposite end is called the rear end of said inclined way. It is inaplane parallel to and inclined over the hinge of said section, so thatwhen thelatter is in the vertical position, the end of said way thefarther from said leg will bethe lower and will be the higher when saidsection is in the horizontal position. This way contains the key B,which is, in this case, a sphere of metal or other suitable material.This sphere or key is a little larger than the opening D in the upperportion of the block D (which opening is thepath of said leg) so thatsaid sphere cannot pass through said opening. The upper end of the legis concave, as shown in Fig. 4.. When the bed is in the horizontalposition, as shown in Fig. 1, the leg falls by gravity until the head Ais caught by the lower wall of the block D at the opening D As theinclination of the way D is toward said leg, said key rolls against theleg when the bed is turned into the horizontal position, and as soon assaid leg has fallen completely below the key, the latter will roll intothe concavity in the head of the leg. Thus, when the foot of the leg Astrikes the floor, the downward movement of the leg is arrested and saidleg then presses the key B against the upper wall of the block D at theopening D, and, since said key is larger than said opening D, said wallprevents said key from rising farther and said key prevents said legfrom rising farther. Thus the latter is locked. When the bed is raisedfrom the horizontal position so that a line extending through said keyand the length of said leg becomes horizontal, said key falls by gravityfrom between said head and said upper wall of the block D outward intowhat is now the lower end of the way D so that said leg may then bepushed by the hand inward into the position shown by Fig. 2. On liftingthe bed,the latter will usually slip upward a little on said leg Abefore the latter is lifted, so that the key may also descend a littleand be quite clear of the upper wall of the block D. It is to be notedthat the locking and unlocking of the leg by the key are entirelyautomatic.

Referring now to Figs. 5, 6, and 7, the head of the legA does not at anytime descendinto the block D. The opening D is no larger than thebody ofthe leg A, so that the head A is stopped upon reaching the upper face ofsaid block. It is obvious that under this arrangement the key B cannotfall between the upper wall of the block D and the head .of the leg A. Arecess A is cut into the leg A in such position as to be in line withaway D when the leg is in its extended position, such way being similarto the way D in Figs. 1 and 2. The depth of said recess A is,however,only sufficient to partially admit the key B so that when the latter hasrolled to the lower limit of the way D it will be arrested in suchposition as to have beneath it the lower wall of said recess A and aboveit the upper wall ofthe block D. VVhenthe key is in this position,thelegA cannot move upward; but when the bed is turned into the uprightposition, the key will, by its gravity, fall through the way D out ofthe path of said leg, after which the latter may be pushed inward byhand into the position shownin Fig. 6. In this form, the key is acylinder instead of a sphere.

In Figs. 8, 9, and 10, the construction is almost like thatlastdescribed. The difference consists in the use of a sliding key inthe shape of a shaft or elongated plate or block arranged to fall intoone of the recesses A in the side of the leg A which is parallel withthe way D said way extending across the path of the leg so that each endof the key will be directly belowa portion of the wallof the block D,and the middle of said key will oppose the elevation of the leg.

The form shown in Figs. 11, 12, and 13 differs but little from that lastdescribed. A sliding key is used, but the recess A extends midwaythrough the leg A in such position as to be in line with the way D whenthe leg is in its extended position, and said key is shown longer thanthe portion of the path of the key extending across the path of the legso that only the middle portion of said key lies in the path of the leg,the ends being engaged by the walls of said inclined way. A comparisonof these four forms shows that each has a leg arranged loosely in a waywhich is perpendicular to the bottom of the folding section of furnitureand a gravity key controlled by an inclined way'at the side of said legtoward the hinge of the section and extending into the path of said leg,and which is in a plane parallel to and extending over the hinge of saidsection, so that when said section is turned into the horizontalposition, the leg will fall by gravity into the extended position, andthe key will move by gravity into the path of said leg and lock it. Itwill be seen, also, that each of said keys is free that is to say, it isnot secured in such manner as to prevent it from shifting bodily andreceiving direction from said way. It is to be noted that the keys shownin Figs. 1 and 5 are similar in that they are both round and move byrolling.

WVhen the leg is applied to a folding bed, a housing, E, Figs. 1 and 2,may be used to inclose the space occupied by the leg when folded. Thusthe bedding may be kept out of the way of said leg.

We claim as our invention- 1. ln leg attachments for folding beds, thecombination of a vertical way in which said leg slides a leg slidingtherein, an inclined way extending into the path of said leg, with afree gravity key playing in said inclined way, said key being of such asize that it will extend into the path of said leg, a portion of saidkey being engaged by the walls of said vertical way to prevent the legfrom entering, substantially as described.

2. In leg attachments for folding beds, the combination of a casingsecured at the foot of the bed, said casing having a slot for theinsertion of the leg and a slot of larger area in cross sectionextending from the slot carrying the leg at an angle, said slot having aball therein which falls by gravity into the lower end of the largerslot out of the path of travel of the leg when the bed is folded, andover the end of the leg when the bed is unfolded, substantiallyasdescribed.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures, in presence of twowitnesses, this, 23d dayof June, in the year 1890.

W'ILLARD A. MORRISON.

CHARLES L. AMES.

Witnesses:

OYRUs KEHR, AMBROSE RIsnoN.

